Cloning PCs -- how access Server 2003 from boot CD?

[Ken Wallewein]

I want to clone a laptop image to another of laptops, storing the
intermediate image on Windows Server 2003. The problem I'm running into is
that I can't seem to find a boot CD that will let me access the server via
the network. Apparently Server 2003 uses security that prevents such
connections.

I don't want to install cloning software on either the source or target
PCs. I'm not really stuck on storing the image on the server, though;
another PC would do. I could even use a USB drive; tried it with a Ghost
2003 boot CD, but it didn't accept my drive. I'm not stuck on Ghost,
either; I'd be happy to use another cloning/imaging tool.

So what are folks using these days?

/kenw
Ken Wallewein
K&M Systems Integration
Phone (403)274-7848
Fax (403)275-4535
(e-mail address removed)
www.kmsi.net

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I want to clone a laptop image to another of laptops, storing the
intermediate image on Windows Server 2003. The problem I'm running into is
that I can't seem to find a boot CD that will let me access the server via
the network. Apparently Server 2003 uses security that prevents such
connections.

I don't want to install cloning software on either the source or target
PCs. I'm not really stuck on storing the image on the server, though;
another PC would do. I could even use a USB drive; tried it with a Ghost
2003 boot CD, but it didn't accept my drive. I'm not stuck on Ghost,
either; I'd be happy to use another cloning/imaging tool.

So what are folks using these days?

/kenw
Ken Wallewein
K&M Systems Integration
Phone (403)274-7848
Fax (403)275-4535
(e-mail address removed)
www.kmsi.net

You could use snapshot.exe (http://www.drivesnapshot.de/en/down.htm).
It's a commercial product with a 30-day trial period. The product requires
no installation - it simply runs from the Command Prompt under Windows
or DOS. It will store its image file on any drive currently visible under
the
Command Prompt, e.g. on your server.

With snapshot.exe you have two options to restore the image:
a) By launching Windows on the target machine, then running snapshot
to restore the image. I have not yet tested this mode.
b) By booting the machine with a boot disk - any boot disk! - and
restoring the image.

When restoring an image, he image file must be accessible on the local
hard disk, on a CD/DVD or on a network drive. Furthermore, if you
use a Win98 boot disk then the image file must be less than 2 GBytes
in size. snapshot.exe lets you manage the file size.

 

[Plato]

I want to clone a laptop image to another of laptops, storing the

http://www.xxclone.com/

 

[Ken Wallewein]

....

You could use snapshot.exe (http://www.drivesnapshot.de/en/down.htm).
It's a commercial product with a 30-day trial period. The product requires
no installation - it simply runs from the Command Prompt under Windows
or DOS. It will store its image file on any drive currently visible under
the
Command Prompt, e.g. on your server.

With snapshot.exe you have two options to restore the image:
a) By launching Windows on the target machine, then running snapshot
to restore the image. I have not yet tested this mode.
b) By booting the machine with a boot disk - any boot disk! - and
restoring the image.

When restoring an image, he image file must be accessible on the local
hard disk, on a CD/DVD or on a network drive. Furthermore, if you
use a Win98 boot disk then the image file must be less than 2 GBytes
in size. snapshot.exe lets you manage the file size.

Sorry, but that doesn't sound any different from Ghost, which means it
doesn't solve my problem.

I've yet to find a boot CD that will let me access a Server 2003 share. The
issue is specific to 2003. 2000 is no problem.

/kenw

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Sorry, but that doesn't sound any different from Ghost, which means it
doesn't solve my problem.

I've yet to find a boot CD that will let me access a Server 2003 share. The
issue is specific to 2003. 2000 is no problem.

/kenw

What do need a boot CD for? Presumably the laptop is functional
(even though you never made this clear), and presumably it can
reach the server via a network connection (which you did not make
clear either). If these assumptions are correct then you can boot
the laptop into Windows and store your image in the server straight
away!

If the above assumptions are incorrect then please provide
full details about your current configuration.

 

[Ken Wallewein]

...

What do need a boot CD for? Presumably the laptop is functional
(even though you never made this clear), and presumably it can
reach the server via a network connection (which you did not make
clear either). If these assumptions are correct then you can boot
the laptop into Windows and store your image in the server straight
away!

If the above assumptions are incorrect then please provide
full details about your current configuration.

The source PC is running normal, fully functional Windows XP.

The objective to get an exact image of the source hard drive with the
installed OS in ready-to-boot condition (i.e., not the kind of thing you'd
get if you just turned off the power while it was running). The state of a
running OS in partly on disk and partly in RAM, and you can't copy RAM
contents except via Hibernate. So you need to copy the hard drive with the
OS shut down.

Which means booting from another device -- i.e., the boot CD.

The target PC may or may not have anything previously installed on the hard
drive. Restoring the previously created image to it, again, means the hard
drive you're overwriting -- particularly the partition from which Windows
is currently running -- can't be in use. Thus the boot CD.

The kicker in all of this, of course, is that I want to store my images on
the server, which runs Server 2003. I can't connect to a Server 2003 share
when booting from a CD. So I either need to find a boot CD that can
connect to Server 2003 shares, or use some other method to access the
images on that server without booting from the drive I'm overwriting.

I've looked at products that appear to make useable-but-not-exact images of
the running OS. They strike me as more for backup than cloning.

/kenw

 

[Kerry Brown]

The source PC is running normal, fully functional Windows XP.

The objective to get an exact image of the source hard drive with the
installed OS in ready-to-boot condition (i.e., not the kind of thing
you'd get if you just turned off the power while it was running).
The state of a running OS in partly on disk and partly in RAM, and
you can't copy RAM contents except via Hibernate. So you need to
copy the hard drive with the OS shut down.

Which means booting from another device -- i.e., the boot CD.

The target PC may or may not have anything previously installed on
the hard drive. Restoring the previously created image to it, again,
means the hard drive you're overwriting -- particularly the partition
from which Windows is currently running -- can't be in use. Thus the
boot CD.

The kicker in all of this, of course, is that I want to store my
images on the server, which runs Server 2003. I can't connect to a
Server 2003 share when booting from a CD. So I either need to find a
boot CD that can connect to Server 2003 shares, or use some other
method to access the images on that server without booting from the
drive I'm overwriting.

I've looked at products that appear to make useable-but-not-exact
images of the running OS. They strike me as more for backup than
cloning.

/kenw

Look at the enterprise versions of disk imaging software. This is what they
were designed for. If you want free you could also look at the OPK for OEMs.
It is very complicated to setup the first time but once done it works great.

http://www.symantec.com/Products/enterprise?c=prodinfo&refId=865

http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/products/snapdeploy/

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/deploy/default.mspx

Kerry

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

See below.

The source PC is running normal, fully functional Windows XP.

The objective to get an exact image of the source hard drive with the
installed OS in ready-to-boot condition (i.e., not the kind of thing you'd
get if you just turned off the power while it was running). The state of a
running OS in partly on disk and partly in RAM, and you can't copy RAM
contents except via Hibernate. So you need to copy the hard drive with the
OS shut down.

Not with snapshot.exe. It will create a bootable image even
while the OS is up and running. Some other imaging programs
will do this too. Give it a try!

Which means booting from another device -- i.e., the boot CD.

The target PC may or may not have anything previously installed on the hard
drive. Restoring the previously created image to it, again, means the hard
drive you're overwriting -- particularly the partition from which Windows
is currently running -- can't be in use. Thus the boot CD.

The kicker in all of this, of course, is that I want to store my images on
the server, which runs Server 2003. I can't connect to a Server 2003 share
when booting from a CD. So I either need to find a boot CD that can
connect to Server 2003 shares, or use some other method to access the
images on that server without booting from the drive I'm overwriting.

I've looked at products that appear to make useable-but-not-exact images of
the running OS. They strike me as more for backup than cloning.

/kenw

I was hesitant too to believe the claims made by the creators of
snapshot.exe. After imaging half a dozen machines I am must
admit that they deliver what they promise.